John a



(No Model.)

' J. A. OPPY.

DEVICE FOR DAMMING BITCHES.

Patented Jul 1, 1884.

B lfli n a WITNESSES Uniirnn drains Parent Oriana.

JOHN A. OPPY, OF HILLSBOROUG-I-I, COLORADO.

DEVlCE FOR DAIVHVHNG BITCHES. r

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 301,143, dated July 1, 188%.

Application filed March 22, 1884.

f0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. OPPY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hillsborough, in the county of WVeld and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Damming Ditches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to devices for damming ditches; and its object is to provide a simple and improved device which can be readily set in position and adjusted for diifer ent widths of ditches, and which will possess advantages in point of general utility, durability, and efficieney.

My invention is adapted for use in small ditches such as are used for irrigating agricultural and other lands. Heretofore, in order to check the water in these small ditches and cause it to overflow the lands, it has been necessary to form small dikes or dams,which have to be provided in great numbers and frequently shoveled out and made again, thus occasioning great labor, loss of time, and general inconvenience. My invention is designed to obviate these disadvantages by providing a simple device, embodying, substantially, two pivoted blades adapted to be set in the ditch at any desired point, and expanded upon the pivot to form a transverse dam. This improved device can be readily removed from the ditch, and by its use the dams can be.

quickly formed and broken at will.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved damining device. Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is (No model.)

illustrated in Fig. 1. The inner edges, a may also be beveled.

B designates the pivot, which is preferably formed by a bolt, 2), passing through the perforations a at the lower corner of the blades, and secured by a nut, b. A series of perforations, c, is preferably provided, so that the pivot may be adjusted to adapt the device to different widths of ditches. At the tops of the blades suitable handles, 0 O, are provided, to facilitate the expansion of the device when it is applied to the ditch.

D designates a guard pin or bolt, which is secured to one of the blades and projects over the top edge of the other blade, the said pin being provided with a head or flange, d, projecting in front of the face of the latter blade, and serving to retain the top edges of the blades together, and thereby obviate strain upon the pivot at the bottom. At the inner top corner of one of the blades may be provided a projection, (1, adapted to be engaged by the pin D, to limit the extension of the blades.

In applying my invention to the ditch, the deviceis first set trausverselyin relation thereto and pressed slightly in the ground, when the blades are extended by means of the handles until their side edges enter the sides of the ditch, and thus form a dam across the same. To break the dam it is only necessary to bring the blades together and draw the device from the ditch.

I claim as my invention 1. A device for dammin g ditches, embodying two blades or plat-es pivoted together, and adapt-ed to be expanded upon the pivot in a transverse plane, to engage the sides of the ditch, substantially as set forth.

2. In a device for dammin g ditches, the combination of two overlapping blades or plates pivoted together at their lower ends, substantially as set forth.

3. The hereindeseribed device for damming ditches, comprising two overlapping blades or plates having beveled outer edges, the pivotpin passing through the blades at their lower ends, and the operating handles extending from the tops of the blades, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, in a device for damming ditches, with the blades or plates pivoted topin or bolt passing through said perforations,

gether at their lower ends, of means for retain-- and aguard-pin secured to the top of one blade ing the top portions of the blades from lateral and projecting in front of the face of the other movement, whereby strain upon the pivot is blade, substantially as and for the purpose set obviated, substantially as and for the purpose forth.

set forth. In testimony whereof I affixmy signature in 5. The combination, in adevice for damming presence of two witnesses.

ditches, of the overlapping blades or plates T T having the outer cutting-edges and provided JOHL OPP with the perforations at their lower ends and the operating-handles at their top, the pivot W'itnesses':

"WILLIAM A. GLEMENTs, JOHN L. SKEEN. 

